In-home computer games and computer game systems have become mainstream consumer products. Such systems allow a user to play computer games at home on a standard television set or on a handheld device that the user may carry with the user. Typically, in-home computer game systems include a console that reads computer game code from a storage device (e.g., a CD-ROM disc or cartridge) and transmits video to a television screen for display. Computer game systems also typically include a controller device that allows the user playing the computer game to provide inputs to the computer game to manipulate the characters or other features of the game.
Generally, the designer of the computer game will create a computer-rendered world in which the computer game characters or other features may interact. For example, many computer games allow a player to maneuver an avatar (e.g., a sprite or character) through a computer-rendered world to accomplish a set of tasks. Other computer games allow the player to control a vehicle or airplane through a computer-rendered world. In two-dimensional computer games, characters may move in two dimensions (e.g., up and down on the screen or left and right), while in three-dimensional computer games, characters are typically allowed to move in three dimensions in the computer-rendered world.